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Tony Eury Jr. out as Danica's crew chief

September 16, 2012

There was a shakeup on Danica Patrick's Nationwide team, as Tony Eury Jr. was fired as her crew chief. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

First, his father was fired as competition director at JR Motorsports. And on Monday, Tony Eury Jr. was fired as Danica Patrick's crew chief on the No. 7 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Reportedly, Eury Jr. will be replaced by Ryan Pemberton, who was hired shortly after Eury Sr. was fired by JR Motorsports 10 days ago.

“They’re trying to fix the competition of the cars,” Eury Jr. told FOX Sports on Monday. “They thought they could do better without me there. They hired Ryan, and Ryan’s their guy.”

Eury Jr. remains part of the JR Motorsports ownership team, along with Earnhardt, his sister, Kelley, and Rick Hendrick. “We’re still in discussions about that,” Eury Jr. said of his business interest in the team. As for his relationship with Earnhardt: “Me and Dale Jr. are perfect. We’re fine.”

Earnhardt issued a statement mid-afternoon on Monday: “Unfortunately, Tony Jr. is no longer with the company,” he said. “I had hoped he would be here for a long time, but as we’ve discussed the direction of JR Motorsports moving forward, it was clear our differences in ideas were too vast to overcome. I love him like a brother and you’ll never hear me say a bad thing about him. I know he’ll have much success in anything he does going forward. As for our No. 7 team, no decision has been made on who will crew chief that team this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. We will discuss our options and make a decision very soon.”

Patrick, in her first full Nationwide season, is 11th in points, but has no top-five finishes and only two top-10s, eighth at Fort Worth in the spring and ninth at Bristol several weeks ago. Her average start has been 15th, her average finish 20th. She plans to move full time in Sprint Cup next year for Stewart-Hass Racing.